Microstory 200: Keegan Honors

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Keegan Honors was the founder of Bellevue. She appeared to be much younger than she really was, and this caused people to underestimate her and treat her like a child. In turn, she became frustrated and sarcastic with them, like the teenager they thought she was. This continued in a vicious cycle so that she was never really that effective of a leader. In the end, even though she eventually started aging, she had to step down from her leadership position to let Mason Palomino take the reigns. He kept her close as an advisor, however, since she had so much more life experience than he did. Keegan was given the callsign of Keystone. She was the glue that held all other anomalies together. Though people with anomaly genetic traits had existed for millennia, they could not be activated until Keegan was born. She only activated several dozen people, and even she was not clear why this happened. She certainly did not consciously activate these people, and these people alone. She even later tried to activate a carrier directly, but was unable to do so. Whatever was connecting anomalies together, Keegan was part of it, but was not in control of it. She did have the ability to locate and keep track of anomalies around the world. With this knowledge, she created a list. But the majority of this list was lost to her before she was able to use it, and her ability was taken from her by a mysterious somebody. She conducted research on the few people who she still knew of, and determined which ones to contact first. She found Basil, a rich business magnate, to back them so they could use the fact that members did not need to work as incentive. She found a criminal, Straton who could teach them useful skills. It was important to her that the anomalies she gathered did not depend on their abilities. She of all people knew what it was like to be hopelessly vulnerable. She wanted to form an organization built around anomalies, but not composed exclusively of them. She felt that the world needed a singular unit of law enforcement, and that the Confederacy was not equipped to accomplish this. It was always her plan to create an agency, rather than a league, and it was Valary who understood her sentiments more than anyone, and helped make this vision a reality. Even though most of the decisions were made by others, history did not forget that this whole thing was Keegan’s idea, and that none of it would be possible without her...literally.

Microstory 199: Crescentia ‘Tia’ Norris

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A normal anomaly ability will exploit some sort of physical phenomenon, often to wondrous results, but it will always remain within the laws of physics. It’s easy to manipulate the temperature of the environment; people do it all the time with furnaces. Therasia Jarvi is really just a different way of doing this. It’s impressive, but not impossible. The dimension that Jaklyn Simonds uses to teleport already exists, and can theoretically be opened using technology. In fact, this kind of thing becomes commonplace following advances in transportation. Crescentia Norris—who generally preferred to go by Tia because it was easier for others pronounce—on the other hand, broke a major physical law. She could change her size at will; growing to become a giant, or shrinking to become an ant. This broke the law of conservation of mass, which dictates that mass cannot be spontaneously added or removed. It always has to either come from, or go, somewhere. Though Adam Nicks did eventually uncover an explanation for her, no one else knew how she was able to do this, and even he couldn’t explain it until certain other events revealed clues as to her origins. Like Stella Pelto, her status as an anomaly was rather unclear. She carried genetic properties that scientists would expect to find, but there were also surprising differences in the data. Tia came out of a family of two of the nicest people one could ever meet. They had previously lost a daughter to an unfortunate death, but they held strong. They took care of their second daughter, and taught her how to be a good person. They encouraged her to use her abilities to change the world, and when she was ready, to find others like her. She was one of the first members of Bellevue, and could regularly be found arguing with the founder on best practices. But the two of them were destined to become extraordinary allies, and would always have Bellevue’s best interests at heart, and be working to ensure that the organization never fell apart during its growing pains (pun intended). Tia developed an unbreakable bond with Cosmo, Tamra, and Mason as well. The four of them would later separate into their respective departments, and maintain a balance across the board. Despite her major contributions to history, most people ended up forgetting about her altogether. I won’t get into why. You’re liable to forget.

Microstory 198: (Callsign ‘Operator’)

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Following Phaedra Wirth and Tracy Wickham’s betrayal, the scientists responsible for a number of unethical experiments with human subjects decided to change tactics. They were no longer going to choose candidates like Phaedra with moral compasses, and the integrity to make their own decisions, or those like Tracy who were easily convinced to change their inclinations. No, they thought it was best to find someone amoral; a sociopath, and just keep them happy. They were wrong. After progress in the human genome project, and development of a more sophisticated means of identifying anomaly potentials, they were able to locate a woman whose identity was kept secret; callsign Operator. She was not born with special abilities, but her DNA was just chock full of genetic similarities with those who were. Years after Bellevue came out of the shadows, these scientists restarted their program, and performed an experiment on Operator in an effort to compete with Bellevue’s near monopoly on anomalies. The procedure was the most successful one of all; a Generation Alpha anomaly with no need for that pesky stabilizing evolution; an instant Generation One. Unfortunately for them, there was just no way of containing what they had created. Operator developed the ability to manipulate other people’s motor functions. She could not control her target’s mind, but she could move their bodies as she pleased, and most would be hopeless to fight it. She used this to force every single person who knew who she was to kill themselves. She was also able to see the world from her target’s perspective, much like the possession ability found earlier in Starla Wakefield. Her power increased exponentially the more time that passed, whether she was practicing it or not. She later developed the ability to push herself into the perspective of just about everyone on the planet simultaneously. People were allowed to go on about their lives as normal, but would be forced to do her bidding if she wanted them to. Though a few people were immune to her control, only one person possessed the means to find out who and where she was, and to end her hold on others. But this person had been missing since 1995, and would not be able to put the world back together without help.

Microstory 197: Alicia Baxter

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Alicia Baxter found herself to be a magnet for anomalies, though she herself was not an anomaly. After living for many years in the same foster home as Freeman Sesto and Gus Arnett, she left the country. She found herself traveling all over the world, taking odd jobs and often just helping people she encountered with their personal problems. Though not born with an ability, she possessed the necessary genetic traits to acquire one, which is exactly what happened upon developing strong enough feelings for Gus. She chose to keep this a secret from pretty much everyone; even him. Many anomalies throughout a period before the founding of Bellevue called her a trusted friend and confidant. It was unclear how she was able to find so many anomalies independently of each other, but a common theory was some sort of spiritual connection. She helped Paulo Rocha with his adopted daughter when she was an unruly teenage girl with no one around to relate to. She was on the scene one time when Dores Roach was healing someone, and helped her and her friend escape the area before being spotted by the authorities. She even once accompanied Patience Cooney on a few particularly dangerous missions to transport refugees using her stones. She met other anomalies, but she never revealed this fact to any of them until they had been integrated with Bellevue. Alicia was considered to be the heart and soul of the organization. She spent a lot of time away from the hotel in its earlier days, both doing unrelated volunteer work, and helping Gus and Freeman in secret. After joining Bellevue full time, Alicia coordinated with North American field operatives, which was far and away the largest department. She also continued her role as a mentor for anyone who felt the need for it, and kept their secrets from others.

Microstory 196: Gary Prose

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Like Molly Bloom, Gary Prose was completely immune to radiation, though he was not an anomaly. His was a nearly unique case of someone being born with special abilities due to highly recent occurrences. His father past away before he was born, and his mother felt incapable of taking care of him amidst her infamy, and so Gary was adopted by the Proses. They were decent parents, but like Jaklyn’s, were of little consequence. Gary left home after graduating from tertiary school, and only spoke with his family on occasion. Until the time he joined Bellevue, not much is known about his life. It was always unclear how he even came to know about the existence of the nascent organization since he was not an anomaly, and had never been caught using his powers. Gary possessed the ability to siphon radiation from the simplex dimensions, and produce them outwardly. This was not something he did very often, as it served little purpose but for destruction. He was also, not immune, but heavily resistant to drugs. It would take a higher amount of tranquilizers, for instance, to put him down, and he would still process the chemicals and wake up from the ensuing sleep much faster than a normal person. There was no apparent connection between radiation manipulation and drug resistance, and so there was much confusion over what was going on with him. Aside from his more obvious skills, Gary was a brilliant strategist, known for being able to develop extraordinarily complex projects, and being the master of the contingency plan. His motives were always mysterious, and any attempt to understand him was met with a new surprise. He formed a romantic bond with Jaklyn Simonds, one powerful enough to cause him to absorb her teleporting ability and use it for himself, but still he seemed only ever to be using her for his own gain. Theirs was a toxic relationship; one that leaked into the dynamics of the entire group, causing tensions and incidents, and even a few deaths. But Gary had plans for Bellevue, and for the world, and sometimes his radical ideas were shared by unexpected allies.

Microstory 195: Vilhelm Kardos

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After accidentally being responsible for a balcony collapse, Vilhelm Kardos took a vow of silence. He was born with the ability to manipulate his own density, which means that he could be as light as a feather, or as heavy as an anvil. This allowed him to walk on water, and somewhat in the air as a mild level of flight. In its natural state, his body was extremely durable and strong, but he could also adjust the atoms he was composed of so as to pass unharmed through solid matter. His ability promised a number of impressive military applications, and so he was recruited by a paramilitary organization. He never agreed to join them, but part of his vow of silence was to abstain from argument in any form. He allowed them to take him away without pushing back, even though he could get past them easily. They spent weeks trying to break him down and convince him to help them, but he never said a word. He remained in his cell the entire time, moving only to eat, drink, and relieve himself. After finally resigning themselves to the fact that Vilhelm was never going to budge on his position, they switched tactics and pulled him into a new program. They used technology to steal his ability and transfer it to Phaedra Wirth. An unfortunate side effect of this was his death. Phaedra later turned on her superiors and went on to use his ability for good, but his influence on Bellevue and the world was not limited to this. Out of his years of silence came a plan, and a series of events first set by him that would shift humanity into a new age.

Microstory 194: Otto Vann

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Otto Vann was a wicked man. He was the most twisted of his siblings, having fully embraced their violent cult that encouraged torture. But be took things one step further, choosing to brutally murder people just for fun. The purpose of their sect’s form of torture was to recruit a following, but Otto had an insatiable thirst for death. He became a notorious serial killer across all of Europe. Yet his existence was really only rumored. He never killed the same way twice, and he did not have a hunting ground. He would cross into a different country for each kill, and only circle back around once he was finished with all of the others. Of course, his kill count was never really known, but it was estimated to have been in hundreds, possibly over a thousand. Like his sister and twin brother, his ability was fairly weak, but it was enough to come in handy. He was capable of manipulating the oxygen in the immediate area, and would regularly use it to make his victims unable to breath, without having to leave any marks. He would also use a special technique to make his torture victims high on the oxygen, so that they could be more easily influenced into falling in line. Otto's family was not entirely aware of his proclivities, but they knew that he was going beyond his calling. His brother tried to get him to be more careful, his sister did her best to stay out of it, and his parents couldn't care less, as long as it wasn't interfering with his responsibility to increase the numbers of their cult. He was finally discovered after trying to join up with Bellevue, and later died a prisoner. But his life was not a complete waste. His ability was replicated with technology, and used to create a new form of firefighting. Instead of trying to drown or snuff out the flames, their fuel source could simply be sucked away in an instant.

Microstory 193: Luka Drake

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To refer to Luka Drake as a “speedster” would do him a disservice. To an outside perspective, he might appear to be running quickly—that is, he would be moving too quickly for anyone to register him—but this was not actually what was happening. In reality, he was capable of perceiving the world at an extremely low speed, and then move through it at a normal rate. When in this special state, people and other moving objects around him do not appear to be completely still, but they do move incredibly slowly...painfully slowly. The ancient rogue scientists responsible for anomaly abilities stumbled onto even older research into the physiology of small insects at some point. They found that small creatures, notably flies, naturally perceived time differently. In fact, there was a correlation between the size of the perceiver, and the speed of time. This research explained why flies would be able to escape from the wrath of a swatter with fractions of seconds to spare, even though the human wielding the weapon was physically superior. Just watch any disaster film with huge explosions and the collapse of gigantic objects. Mountains, skyscrapers, or gargantuan statues crumble and fall to the surface relatively slowly, despite being massive. These things are not falling slower, but they appear to be from a human’s perspective, because of the dramatic size difference. The scientists applied this property to Luka’s bloodline, and added a little extra oomph. Upon some concentration, he could rewire his brain’s perception of reality, and essentially throw himself into a different flow of time. Unfortunately, his ability wasn’t perfectly, and he found himself stuck in this state for a long time. He spent years unable to interact with those around him, because they were moving too slowly, and didn’t even know that he was there. He walked around the world at his lonely luxury, eating bits of food off of people’s plates. He carried with him oxygen tanks, because the oxygen molecules in the surrounding environment were not moving fast enough to keep his body satisfied for extended periods of...time. Upon running into Bellevue, he discovered a dangerous drug that could temporarily suppress abilities, which he promptly injected himself with one time. He then found documents regarding the mystery of Connor Higgins. At the time, Bellevue did not know what his ability was, but Luka pieced it together and realized that he could negate abilities, and so he went off to find him on his own. He then moved on with his life, but kept a supply of Connor’s blood with him, occasionally transfusing himself to keep him tied down to the timeflow. But he was not done with Bellevue quite yet.

Microstory 192: Paulo Rocha

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An important early member of Bellevue jumped ahead of that infamous short list of anomalies, and discovered Paulo Rocha living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was born in a small town nearby, but moved to the city to be closer to the targets of his ability. He could sense and manipulate waves on the microwave section of the Electromagnetic spectrum, including ultra-high frequency, super high frequency, and extremely high frequency waves. This allowed him to interface with television broadcasts, walkie-talkies, cell phones, GPS, and later line-of-sight communication such as wireless internet and near field communication. He could push the boundaries and adjust or redirect these signals beyond their normal range. He was always a curious boy, and liked to listen in on private conversations. He never worked in espionage, or sold information to the highest bidder. He just liked to know that he knew things that others wouldn’t want him to know, and would do him harm if they knew that he knew. But this early Bellevue member was desperate. A friend of theirs had unknowingly become father to an extremely powerful Generation Two, and the infant needed to be protected from the world. Much of Brazil was about as remote as one could get in the world, and Paulo was about as random an anomaly as one could find. He agreed to raise the child in secret. He remembered learning of a small tribal village that had experienced minimal outside contact from his life in the small town, and so he took her there. He kept that baby safe, teaching her to control her abilities, and to make her own choices for what she wanted to do with them. Many years later, after hearing of her birth father’s death, this girl took to the skies and became a superhero to honor his legacy. She traveled to Bellevue and secretly absorbed the abilities of all anomalies she could find. She then went around the world, mostly in South America, saving everyone she could, and capturing criminals. Bellevue officially contacted the two of them not long after, and discussed their options. Paulo ended up holding on to his connection with his adopted daughter, and ran communications for operatives in South America, much like Radimir in Europe. His ability was perfect for it.

Microstory 191: Mosi Jengo

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Tanzanian Mosi Jengo was born to a wheat family of modest living. His was a community of farmers, and when he was a child, the only one not dealing with a drought. The surrounding area farmers were suffering greatly. Recreational drugs were illegal throughout most of the world, but parts of Tanzania relied on the industry to keep them aloft. Confederacy authorities allowed this to continue, partly because they lacked the resources to shut them down, but also because they were willing to concede a small fraction of drug users if it meant poor farmers had enough money to survive. But a certain farm off a nearby town had learned of Mosi’s community’s fortunes, and went in with weapons to find out what was happening. Upon hearing that they were somehow responsible for the miracle, they attacked and terrorized Mosi’s family. His parents pleaded with them, and tried to explain that they had no idea why the rain had chosen fall only on them. Out of anger and fear, Mosi used his abilities to pull a lightning bolt from the sky and strike down the man who was manhandling his mother. What he did not understand at the time, was that his mother would be harmed by the lightning as well. She was electrocuted and killed instantly. The leader of the rival farm allowed Mosi to mourn his loss before removing him from his home, and paying the father what he considered to be a fair exchange. The leader became Mosi’s mentor. He provided him with an education, a bed, and more food than he was used to. Together, they rid their country of the drug business. They spent years converting farmers to legitimate businesses by selling them good weather. Every year, they would return to Mosi’s home to pay respects to his mother’s legacy. By the time Bellevue found him, Mosi and his mentor had transformed Tanzania into a flourishing paradise. As the land turned, not only did the farmers become richer, but tourism began to boom, further enhancing the country’s economy. Through irrigation and other modern farming techniques, Tanzania began to be self-sufficient, and no longer needed Mosi’s assistance. He and his mentor joined Bellevue, but spent very little time in Kansas. They traveled with Blake Williams as a sort of specialized weather team. While Blake absorbed and quelled quakes, Mosi protected target areas from other natural events. Slowly, he shaped the world to make it safer and more convenient, and was later able to gain enough power to control the weather across the globe from any point, to nearly any degree.

Microstory 190: Monique Attar

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Monique Attar was sister to Solange, and aunt to Zoey. She spent her whole life in the shadow of her younger sister. Solange was a performer, famous for her beautiful singing voice and spot on impressions. In order to “find herself” Monique left home and traveled across Europe. She had the ability to tamper with the feelings and, to a degree, the thoughts, of any living creature, including humans. She could create, alter, or otherwise manipulate pheromones, and place her target in a hypnotic state. She was never able to control their actions, or change the target's true feelings on a subject, but she could convince them to do things for her with greater ease than other persuasive people. She never used her ability to steal or harm others, but she was regularly able to crash on strangers’ couches, or enjoy a meal at a discount. and sometimes for free. The more she used this ability, the more she learned about what was really happening; the science behind it all. She also became stronger, and was later able to hypnotize more than one person at once. After a couple of years, Monique had grown tired of Europe, and decided to check out some of Africa. She soon found herself working as a safari tour guide. She became famous in certain circles for being able to allow visitors to draw unusually close to wild animals without coming to harm. She returned to France when her sister became pregnant with Zoey, and was struggling with her accelerated development. After Zoey’s rapid growth continued following her birth, Monique insisted they go to Bellevue headquarters in Usonia. After the problem was corrected, the family decided to remain in Kansas where Zoey attended school, and Solange worked in Records and Archives, keeping track of the organization’s history. Used to staying on the move, Monique went out into the field and provided security and protection for operatives and innocent civilians.

Microstory 189: Levi Jacobson

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Levi Jacobson was a moody child, and an even moodier adult. He was generally happy when his father was around, but not always. He was pretty hard to please, and the smallest of inconveniences could set him off. He was anomaly by his mother's blood, and this allowed him a level of flight. While his later love interest, Ellen could initially only fly upwards, Levi could only levitate a few meters from the surface, at most, and fly forwards. He spent a lot of time over the ocean, because that was the best way to avoid people seeing his ability in action. At one point, this led him to Hawaii where he met, and fell in love with, Ellen. She was the first other anomaly he had ever seen, and their love ultimately allowed their respective abilities to evolve. But Levi was not just an anomaly. His father had abilities of his own; ones that predated anomalies by millennia. His ability to travel through time was an accident; and it led him to break a number of other rules. His kind was not allowed to procreate, and this was the kind of rule that could fundamentally not be broken. Anyone who made an attempt would be met with failure; be it interruption, the simple inability to conceive, or miscarriage. But he could not be caught, and could thusly not be stopped. He fathered many children, with more than one woman, who were able to manipulate time in their own ways. But not all of these children knew where they came from, and those that did would regularly lose their memories. Levi had some understanding of his father's past, but lacked discipline and control, which only served to fuel his anger. He encountered one of his siblings as an adult, but neither of them knew this, and she was torn from him before they had the chance to learn the truth.

Microstory 188: Fiona Mill

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When Fiona Mill’s parents were driving their little baby girl home from the hospital for the first time, they were involved in a vehicular collision. Little Fiona was thrown from the car and suffered an irreparable spinal injury. Fortunately, she survived, but was left a paraplegic, and was forced to remain in a wheelchair. Having grown up in this condition, and not knowing any other way, Fiona was a primarily positive and agreeable person. After her parents entered an assisted living facility, she took over operations of their little eleven-room motel on the edge of Gallup, Ashiwa. Business was not great during her tenure due to a new highway, but overhead was minimal and she employed only one worker. They were able to keep the business afloat with little struggle. As a little girl, her parents would often underestimate her strength, and never noticed when she would sneak over and listen to their discussions. They would regularly discuss something referred to as the Firefly Program, but always danced around the details. One night, she witnessed a mysterious yellow light emanating from her mother’s hands. Simply seeing this with her own eyes allowed her to understand how to make this light happen herself. It started with a violet light, but gradually slid up through indigo, blue, green, yellow, and orange. She was never able to generate any other colors, and she did not understand exactly what was happening, or why she was able to perform this magic. She decided to never reveal to her parents that, not only did she know her mother’s secret, but that she shared her gifts. Fiona was placed on the special list of anomalies, and approached by Bellevue without prompt. Being so agreeable, and really having nothing better to do, she closed down the motel and and moved to Kansas, under the condition that her one employee could accompany her. He ended up seamlessly continuing his maintenance duties at the Bellevue Hotel. After some investigation, it was discovered that Fiona’s ability was not just glowing. The lights were only precursors to astral travel. When she steadied her mind and focused her light, Fiona could actually open up windows to other dimensions called astral nodes. Each color gave access to its own specific dimension, and each successive dimension could facilitate faster-than-light travel to a greater distance.

Microstory 187: Peyton Resin

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A long time ago, werewolves roamed the world; one species in a very short list of those that could shapeshift. But unlike fictional depictions of werewolves, these adhered to the law of conservation of mass. Most shapeshifting is impossible, because it would require the shifter to either inexplicably lose mass, or gain mass that does not exist. One particular anomaly was able to subvert this, but those were special circumstances. For most shapeshifters, matter is folded, stretched, or other rearranged to accommodate the shift, but nothing is added or gained. This meant that werewolves appeared to be either slightly larger wolves, or relatively small humans. To the untrained eye, Peyton Resin appeared to be a shapeshifter who could turn herself into a rock. But this was not what she was doing. Like Zoey Attar, Peyton was invoking a rock from some other location, and then she was hiding herself in another dimension. She did not become the rock itself, but was merely using it in order to tether herself to this dimension. While in this state, Peyton could see everything around her, even though she did not have eyes. As her power increased, she was able to reapply this aspect of her ability to everyday life, so that she was always aware of what was happening around her, effectively giving her eyes in the back of her head. With the help of Rick, Hankford, and Flora, Peyton learned to invoke her special rocks without slipping into the other dimension. She could place these rocks at any location, and be able to remotely witness the goings on of the immediate area. Rather early on in Bellevue’s history, the four of them chose to give these rocks as gifts to other members. They would wear them around their necks, and unwittingly give Peyton access to a powerful security system. Even though this breach of security was discovered and subsequently scrapped, Peyton ended up creating the security department of Bellevue with her partner, Milo Chombers, and still placing the rocks in strategic locations in lieu of traditional security cameras. Hankford also developed an injection containing a special type of microscopic minerals of Peyton’s creation which allowed her to keep track of all members, along with their enemies, without being able to view them remotely. Peyton was a geologist by trade, having chosen the field for obvious reasons. Besides her duties in security, she continued to publish geological papers, and contributed to the progress of science in a myriad of ways.

Microstory 186: Cleopatra Marino

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Some anomalies believed their abilities to be amazing gifts, and really focused on trying to figure out how to utilize these gifts to their maximum potential. Some used them for good, others for not so good, but there were some who remained neutral. Cleopatra Marino was born with superhuman strength. Instead of joining some kind of military faction, or saving people from burning buildings, Cleopatra used her abilities in the moving business. She was the primary reason why the company she worked for became one of the most popular moving companies in Australia, specializing in extremely quick and efficient moves. All of her coworkers were aware of her superstrength, and worked carefully to make sure that no one else noticed. One of them would pretend to help her with a piece of furniture, or a heavy box, but they would be able to carry it at a much faster rate, and get the job done faster overall. For the most part, Cleopatra’s life was uneventful. There were never any rumors about what she could do, or any question as to how the company she worked for was so successful. And so she found herself in a rut. Her coworkers kept encouraging her to head for Usonia and join Bellevue, but she hesitated. She knew that her ability could prove useful, but she wasn’t sure whether she was interested in that at all. After some prodding, however, they were able to convince her to at least make a phone call. A representative from Bellevue made the trip to speak with her in Newcastle and they eventually came to the conclusion that there was no reason for her to leave her home. But the world would be better served if she changed careers. Cleopatra was not the head of operations in Australia, but she was its singular anomaly operative. She roamed the states and territories, carrying out missions and protecting people where she could.

Microstory 185: Mandy Alto

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Few anomalies can boast a greater influence on the dynamic of society than dreamwalker Mandy Alto. Modern scientists on our world are not completely certain why it is that we really need sleep. Studies have shown that we burn negligibly fewer calories while at rest, and so it is believed that sleep is primarily necessary for the brain. While in sleep mode, a person will indeed rejuvenate the body, but it will also regulate chemicals to a healthy balance, and process memory. Sleep is important because it allows us shift data around unencumbered by new input, and impress into our minds everything we learned throughout the day so that we do not lose neural connections and forget useful information. Dreams are said to be the brain’s bizarre manifestation of these processes on subconscious and conscious levels. Mandy’s ability allowed him to enter the dreams of anyone on the planet. Once he connected someone to the dream network, he could bestow upon them perfect lucidity. That is, the dreamers remembered everything that happened to them during the dream, and were aware of it while it was happening. But more than this, the minds of the dreamers were able to process what they were learning in real-time, which was advantageous to fostering long-term memory. A dreamworld is an alternate reality; one that the dreamers can mold and modify at will. There are limitless possibilities and resources. Military can be trained without the least bit of physical danger. If a dreamer is shot, for instance, the injury can be healed immediately and with barely a thought, leaving the injured with a learning experience that allows them to prevent such a thing in the real world. Mandy started a small education program for members of Bellevue, but it was Valary Sela who recognized his ability’s potential to benefit efficiency on a massive scale. Dream telepathy was recreated with technology, and the world began to change. No longer were students required to sleep five hours a day, and then go to school for five hours. By doing both of these things at once, students are free to use the remaining fifteen hours as they choose. The technology spread out quickly and eventually became the primary means of education across the entire universe.

Microstory 184: Ossia Mulloy

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When Ossia Mulloy was fairly young, she decided to reveal her ability to her best friend. The two of them were skipping rocks on a pond one evening when Ossia asked if she wanted to see something cool. Henrietta shrugged indifferently but then watched, stunned as Ossia haphazardly tossed a rock into the water, and kept it skipping indefinitely. She made it curve, bounce backwards, and even stop in place, as if the lake were frozen. Henrietta was speechless as Ossia’s feats became more and more impressive. She swung the pond in its entirety back and forth, as if it were nothing more than a small bowl of water. She lifted it in the air and let it fall back down like rain. She smiled to her friend, expecting her to be excited and interested, but instead, Henrietta ran from her and called her a witch. Henrietta ended up trying to tell their parents about what happened, but of course, her accusations were ridiculous, and there was no way for her to prove it. Needless to say, they were no longer friends. When Ossia was 21 years old, she made the natural choice of enlisting in the Diving Section of the Irish Naval Service as an underwater engineer. One night while on leave, Ossia caught a man sexually assaulting Henrietta. More as a reflex, and because he was too physically strong for her, Ossia began to manipulate the water in the man’s body, and pulled him apart with it. He exploded in front of them, covering them with bits and pieces. It was the most horrifying experience for either of them. Despite the violence, the two of them grew closer after that, having bonded over the ordeal. They would never have categorized their new relationship as friendship, but Henrietta was from then on slightly more grateful for Ossia’s ability than she was fearful. Years later, rumors of Ossia’s ability spread beyond the Navy, and Ossia was captured by an associate of Basil Ploutos. He kept her in an abandoned factory in Kansas until she was freed by Bellevue, along with several other anomalies. Ossia never really felt all that interested in the organization, or its goals. She developed a romantic relationship with Gus, but even that was short-lived. She ultimately decided to remain in Usonia, and worked construction a little with Quang and Hugh, but contributed relatively little to anomaly history.

Microstory 183: Bree Nolan

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Bree Nolan’s parents decided to not tell their daughter that she was adopted until she turned 11. The day after her birthday, they sat her down and began the discussion. She told them that she already knew, and pretty much always had. They were never really able to understand why it was that she knew this. She didn’t catch a glimpse of certain documents, she didn’t overhear a conversation, and she certainly never ran a blood test. Bree didn’t need any of those things. As an anomaly, she had the ability to sense genetic details of those around her. She knew that her classmate’s older brother was actually his father. She sensed something different about her teacher’s husband, which eventually lead to them learning that he carried a rare genetic disorder common among patients of a certain terminal disease. She could even tell the exact ancestral composition of anyone she encountered. Bree went out of state for college and found herself paired with Connor Higgins as a roommate. She concentrated and meditated, but found herself unable to discern any genetic information about him. Furthermore, whenever he was around, she could also not sense any information about anyone else. He was somehow blocking her ability, and together, they induced that not only were they both special, but that there must be others like them. They quickly became best friends, but also decided that it was best if they no longer live together. Connor spent his free time researching genetics, and even enrolled in a healthy number of classes in the field. While he was doing that, Bree swam through a sea of people, studying their genes with her mind, and taking note of the differences. Even though she was innately aware of their genetics, she did not have the intellectual background to understand it completely. They created charts, spoke with experts, and discussed their findings. After time, these two amateurs managed to learn a nice amount about what anomalies were, and what made them different. They even had some insight on the matter that Hankford Apolomure hadn’t realized. Bree and Connor joined Bellevue together, but spent a great deal of time off-site, much of it recruiting, so that his ability to negate other abilities did not interfere with operations. Years after Bellevue became a household word, a television network developed a mildly successful program called The Adventures of Conundrum and Treemaker, based loosely on Connor’s and Bree’s lives together.

Microstory 182: Diane Ghoti

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The events surrounding Diane Ghoti’s birth were all very mysterious and unusual. Her parents only ever told her that she was adopted after they had disowned her, but they never revealed how they found her in the first place. This was something she would not understand for many years. She had a very happy childhood growing up in a wealthy family, and always had everything she ever wanted. One day when her parents were arguing in front of her, Diane grew angry, and unwittingly released her pyrokinetic ability. Fire raged throughout the entire mansion, burning everything in its path. Once the flames had dissipated, her parents were left horrified and disgusted. They never stopped to think about why it was that Diane’s fire had not killed them. The fact was that, though Diane’s power was out of her control due to her young age, it was still limited to her wishes. Diane did not want to kill her parents, and so the fire spared them. As they say, the tail does not wag the dog. Diane was kicked out of the house, and sent off to live with her grandfather in Usonia, eventually attending college there. She spent her free time learning control, and soon discovered that she could also fly. The fact that she had two separate abilities was unique to her. Fate later intervened and pushed her to contact Cosmo Drexler, hoping that he could use his background in physics to help her understand where her abilities came from, not knowing that he had an ability of his own. The two of them ended up going to the United Kingdom and meeting the other four members of their little group. Diane was one of the first people to be affected by the deadly pathogen that spread through Bellevue several months after joining. Each patient was affected differently, based on whatever their ability was, which meant that each patient would need to be treated and cured differently. Diane’s body overheated, and began to produce fire uncontrollably. She was placed into a quarantine freezer. This slew down the symptoms, but they were unable to find a cure. Her fire ultimately overcame her, and she was torn asunder. Fortunately for her, she was not only an anomaly, but another special breed. She didn’t die, but she was never the same, and she never returned home.

Microstory 181: Blossom Sadler

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As a little girl, Blossom Sadler attended one of those one room schools designed for children of all ages. She was one of the first anomalies to be born, and grew up in a rural part of Oklahoma, right on the border of the Republic of Texas. Her mother, in fact, was a Texian who gained dual citizenship of both Texas and Usona. Every one of her classmates was aware of her telepathic ability. On the outside, they appeared to be a disinterested class. They were quiet, attentive, and completed their lessons without asking too many questions. But on the inside, they were carrying on secret conversations. Blossom could not only communicate telepathically with anyone and everyone within her vicinity, but could also open up what were later referred to as private lines so that small groups could communicate independent of the others. She acted like a switchboard, connecting parties to each other. One might think to use this as a way to cheat on assignments, but it ended up having the opposite effect. It allowed a more intimate and open-minded dialog amongst the students. The older students were already encouraged to lift up the younger ones, but by being able to connect telepathically, this assistance became so much more profound and useful. None of the students was particularly bright, but these deep connections transformed them into several of the most successful and prosperous adults of their time. They went on to become doctors, advocates, politicians, and brilliant artists. As Blossom’s range expanded across the country, and later the continent, they were able to remain in touch with each other, something that was quite difficult for most people in a time before email, or even telephones. As some of the more powerful people in the world, the classmates were perfectly positioned to provide Bellevue with what they needed to operate safely in the world, even against opposition. They decided to do this in secret, and chose only to involve themselves with the organization directly once the majority of other anomalies had already been uncovered. Blossom’s range had increased by then to allow her to connect with people around the entire world, though she used her ability to primarily work field support for African operatives. She died having lived a full life, and her ability was ultimately reproduced to turn anyone who wanted into telepaths.